3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
Is Franchising Doomed?
II-27 - Our 1st Anniversary Special: Bringing Back Our Inaugural Guest to Discuss What Was and What Will Still Be With President Trump
Employment Law This Week: Break Pay, Misclassification of Franchisees, California Computer Professional Exemption, Non-Compete Payment
An Ohio federal court granted a franchisor’s motion to dismiss a putative class of franchisees alleging antitrust violations and related claims, including interference to deflate franchisees’ reimbursement rates. Other class...more
In Deslandes v. McDonald’s USA LLC, issued August 25, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the dismissal of antitrust claims that challenged no-poach clauses in franchise agreements....more
Arrington v. Burger King Worldwide, Inc., No. 20-13561 (11th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) – In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint in the District Court...more
A federal appellate court held that Burger King and its franchisees may violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act (antitrust) by engaging in concerted action when entering into “no-hire” agreements. The appellate court reversed...more
In early September, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment for defendants Burger King Corporation, Burger King Worldwide, Inc., and their ultimate parent Restaurant Brands International, Inc....more
Federal district courts around the country continue to grapple with how to analyze “no-poach” agreements — whereby two or more companies agree not to hire or recruit each other’s workers — under the antitrust laws. Beginning...more
The US and China have reportedly reached an initial agreement on the “final terms of a phase one trade deal, moving both countries closer to signing a pact that” the White House originally announced in October and averting...more
Legal battles over the antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continue to escalate with new district court decisions and new pronouncements from two “titans” of antitrust policy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
Evolving antitrust treatment of so-called “no-poach” agreements continues to offer important guidance for company counsel and human resources professionals. Over the past two years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has...more
The next hearing session of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) is scheduled for January 31, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Six matters are set for oral argument to consider motions to transfer each...more
In recent weeks, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included...more
Jimmy John’s will face antitrust claims, after an Illinois federal judge declined to dismiss allegations in a class action. Plaintiffs claim the chain’s franchise agreement harmed competition by preventing franchisee...more
Franchise agreements commonly prohibit the franchisee from soliciting or hiring workers employed by the franchisor or other franchisees. This may take the form of “no-hire” or “no-switching” clauses that prohibit hiring each...more
A few years ago, the Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurant chain ran into problems over noncompetition agreements entered into with hourly workers at its franchisees’ stores. Several state attorneys general contended that...more
Franchisors often require franchisees to purchase supplies, materials, or inventory only from suppliers the franchisor approved. But where franchisors see benefits of consolidating by requiring franchisees to participate in...more